Basic Berry Smoothie
My foolproof method for making smoothies. Berries, yogurt and milk, plus extras if you want!
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
A Basic Berry Smoothie made in the Adventure Kitchen.
1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
2 cups frozen berries of your choice
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup milk or vanilla soymilk (or milk of your choice)
Optional spices of your choice: turmeric, Ceylon or cassia cinnamon, mace, allspice, cloves
More optional good stuff: fresh spinach or other greens, peanut/nut butter, raisins, apples or other fruit from your pantry (see notes)
Instructions
1. Add the yogurt to the blender, followed by the berries and banana.
2. Turn the blender on and pour in the milk (through the lid).
3. Add optional spices and/or other good stuff if using. Blend until thoroughly mixed and the consistency of a milkshake.
Notes:
My approach to smoothies is drinkable, healthy meal-in-a-glass. So there’s enough fruit (and veggies?) in here to qualify for meal status. Also, I use plain instead of sweetened yogurt, because I want all the sweet to come from the fruit itself.
If you're using a Vitamix (or other heavy-duty blender), feel free to double this recipe, and throw caution to the wind when blending. You'll be in good shape no matter what you do.
If you're using a normal blender (like me), then there is some finesse to getting everything to blend up nicely:
I've found through much trial and error that putting the yogurt in the bottom of the blender, followed by the berries, gives the blender blades a chance to grab onto everything and begin blending.
You can also help things by moving quickly; if the berries have a chance to freeze together into a solid block, it will make your life more difficult.
Finally, you might notice the blender blades can sometimes make an air pocket in the bottom of your smoothie. If the blender is whirring along but nothing seems to be happening, this is the situation. Turn off the blender and mix things up with a long-handled spoon before turning it back on to try again.
Pour the milk in quickly as soon as you turn on the blender.
Cold is key to an awesome smoothie, so frozen fruit is essential! Room-temperature smoothies are just not tasty.
The banana is critical, and the riper the better. It doesn't really impart a banana flavor, but it gives the whole thing a creamy consistency. Also, the sweetness of bananas intensifies as they ripen. So bananas that are turning brown and may seem too ripe for eating are perfect for smoothies.
You can add some more optional good stuff to your smoothie! Here are some suggestions:
Smoothies are a good place for a pinch of turmeric if you’re looking for ways to get more of that anti-inflammatory stuff in your diet. Ceylon or cassia cinnamon are tasty in smoothies, and have other health benefits re regulating metabolism of sugars. Ground allspice, mace or cloves would also be nice.
If you want to add some veggies to your smoothie, spinach blends nicely with berries and the other flavors in smoothies. Some people like to sneak kale into smoothies, but my advice is to go easy because kale has a much stronger flavor than spinach, so it may be more easily detected by the leafy-green skeptics in your life (I speak from experience).
If you want your smoothie a bit sweeter, you can add raisins or frozen cherries. Both are more intensely sweet than frozen berries, so you can add a little extra sweet that way.
If you want a little extra protein, you can add a spoonful of peanut or almond butter, or the nut butter of your choice. If you choose a salted nut butter, your smoothie will taste a little less sweet. Or consider unsalted almond butter which blends nicely with fruit flavors.
If you have fruit that’s getting a little past its prime for eating fresh (apples, pineapple) you can throw them into a smoothie! They’ll blend well with the other flavors, and might make it a touch more sweet (in a healthy way).